Along the Fraser I read it in the Fish and Flies news. p6
Ridge hospital rated amongst worst. p3
THE NEws
Gardening Finding a pharmacy in your yard. p31
www.mapleridgenews.com Friday, April 12, 2013 · serving Maple Ridge & Pitt Meadows · est. 1978 · 604-467-1122 · 50¢
so long to traditional letter grades elementary teachers here can choose new system by Ne i l Cor be tt staff reporter
Mike Saul, a teacher at Highland Park elementary, would like student grading to move away from the traditional letter system.
Colleen Flanagan/the news
Elementary school teachers in the Maple Ridge and Pitt Meadows will no longer be required to grade students with an A, C+ or D. Wednesday, the local school board approved a new elementary reporting alternate option, termed a student-inclusive conferencing model. It will see teachers meet with students and parents to discuss progress, and an increased emphasis on student self-assessment. Trustees were unanimous in their support of the new option, which was developed over two years by a local committee, headed by the district’s director of instruction, David Vandergugten. see Grades, p12
Tears shed over school budget cuts Class sizes will also increase to help offset shortfall by Ne i l Corbet t staff reporter
Colleen Flanagan/the news
Valerie Rankin in her Grade 2/3 class at Eric Langton elementary Thursday. As part of the cuts, 35 teaching positions will be eliminated.
Tears were literally shed as school trustees passed a preliminary budget Wednesday that included $5.6 million in cuts. Trustee Sarah Nelson’s personal grief and frustration with the budget came out during the discussion, and she struggled to compose herself as she talked about how the local school board lacked autonomy in setting the $130 million budget for 2013/2014.
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Still, she said, members will face public criticism. “It’s difficult to own this.” Other trustees were also emotional, and at one point the meeting’s stenographer got up left the board room, returning with a box of tissue she handed to misty-eyed board chairman Mike Murray. Murray explained that there will be 35 positions lost across the district next year, and lamented that it is the new staff coming into the system that will be lost. “This impacts the young teachers coming into the system who have just spent three, four or five years TOC-ing [teacher on call], and now they’re not going to have jobs.” After the meeting, Murray said he was
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taken aback by colleagues crying at the board table, and of his own tears. “That shocked me.” But he was not surprised by a strong emotional reaction from board members. “We really do care a lot about our students, and we see how passionate our staff are,” he said. “We’re just really afraid that what we stand for might be lost. “You’re affecting people’s lives.” The board faced a budget shortfall of $5.66 million. This was brought about by several factors, including a projected decline in student enrollment of 197.5 fulltime equivalents. That will cause a drop of $1.17 million in government per-pupil funding.
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